Danny Allen & Diana the “Witch”

Danny Allen and Diana Wilber in a photograph by Eva Weiss on or around 1970.

Before anyone jumps all over me, Diana Wilber herself claimed to be a witch. This is not a value judgement or slur on our beloved hippie earth mother. That was how Diana defined herself.

My dear friend (and superb photographer) Eva Weiss came across these photos of Danny and Diana while shuffling through old negatives looking for a whole different set of images. Eva sent these to me this morning with an apology for not having discovered them prior to publication of the book. No apologies are necessary. We’re talking about people and incidents that took place four decades ago. And as I’ve maintained all along, artwork and images of Danny will continue to surface now that the book has been published.

The photo captures the way I recall Danny as looking from day to day. So often when Dan got in front of the camera he put something odd on his head–but this series of photographs captures both he and Diana as I remember them in my mind’s eye. Eva pointed out in her email, for me to me to take note of the adoring expression Diana has while glancing down and Danny. Like everyone else, Diana was smitten with our enigmatic Dan.

It’s an odd sensation to see old photos of loved ones who were our contemporaries and finding that they really do look like old photos. Some of that is Eva’s retro-esthetic in how she approaches photography–but some of it is the bleary eyed distance of time.

An contact strip of photos of Dan and Diana. Eva Weiss ca.1970. I hope to include these photos when I finally get around to digitizing the book.

The First Anniversary of the Book Launch

Danny Allen (to the viewer’s far right) with two friends during a Rochester Sunday brunch.

Danny Allen’s sister, Chris reminded me the other day that it’s been one year since the launch of An Early Work Late in Life. Today is St. Patrick’s Day–and one year ago today Chris, along with a great number of Dan’s and my friends from our Rochester days were on our way to a reception to honor the book and remember Danny (as if any of us who knew him could ever forget).

The book has been a personal milestone for me in that it recalls other early milestones of my youth shared with Danny. In honor of Dan (and St. Patrick’s day) I’m posting these two photos that weren’t used in the book, but are worth sharing. We won’t go into what Dan appears to be doing in these pictures–but I think we all know. He will always be loved and missed. But at the same time, many of us feel more of a sense of resolution now that a portion of Dan’s life has been documented. I still love you, Dan–even after all these years.

Another view of Danny Allen (to the viewer’s far right) with two friends during a Rochester Sunday brunch.